American Idol Finale Results

Who should have won American Idol: Candice Glover
Who I predicted would win American Idol: Candice Glover
The new American Idol is: Candice Glover


And deservedly so. In my view, Candice dominated the entire season of American Idol, like very few, if any contestants ever have. That in some ways can be chalked up to a weak overall field, but still, she had some formidable female competition, and especially with the much respected runner-up Kree Harrison.

Could Candice have won against a White Guy With a Guitar? Probably not, unfortunately. I do not think she will sell as many records as her immediate predecessors Phillip Phillips (who was unable to take part in the Finale Week due to illness) or Scotty McCreery, but Candice is definitely one of the more talented vocalists to come along in some time.

It remains so hard to believe that this was her third time trying out and that she was cut in Las Vegas last year. When that was shown on television at the early part of Season 11, a lot of online Idol fans were quite perplexed by that, believing Candice should have advanced. I did not really have a strong opinion on the matter at that time, but she sure won me over this season. Her triumph is one of perseverance and determination. Not only is she talented, but she and her family, especially her parents, come across as very good people.

I also have positive thoughts about Kree Harrison (and her family) , both in terms of her talent, performance this season, and likability. I do not know what the country music world will hold for Kree, but she certainly has the vocal ability to impress me, as a non-country music fan. She also has been through a lot, since those days when she appeared on the old Rosie O'Donnell show as a young girl. Tragically, she lost both of her parents in separate accidents, while still quite young, and perhaps a musical career, that she had been destined for as a child has taken a bit longer than usual to take off, but she will have her chance now.

The manipulations of the American Idol production and all the drama surrounding the celebrity judges may have detracted from this season especially, but the concept of the show is still a good one, and the last two ladies standing did themselves and the franchise proud.

American Idol Finale

At long last, we have reached the final performance night of the season. It has been a critically negative year for American Idol this year in regards to ratings and media coverage, but I believe that the last two standing are both very deserving of being where they are. We may never know though if one or both of these ladies would be in the Finale if Idol did not basically blacklist all talented and marketable male singers in their desire to finally get a female winner once again.

I will live blog what happens as I watch a recording of the evening that has Candice Glover and Kree Harrison taking the stage at the Nokia Theater in front of 7,000 fans. It sounds like Kree has more vocal support inside the venue.

All season long, the performance shows on Idol have been two hours, but tonight, in the biggest sing-off of them all, it's just an hour, which works out better as far as my schedule goes tonight, but things are probably going to feel a little rushed.

We are told that Kree won the coin toss and elected to go first. Wow, big mistake for her if she really wants to win. That sort of gesture has been done before other Idol finales, and the person who elected to go first always loses... I think. Usually, but not always, the person who sings last winds up winning. Kree really should have tried to have the final moment of the evening on principle, but especially because Candice can be expected to pull out the big guns at the very end, and that will be considered a "moment." After seeming to prefer at times both Amber Holcomb and Angie Miller, it does seem like the Idol Powers That Be prefer a Candice victory.

With that in mind, we begin the first round, which will be songs selected by producer Simon Fuller:

1. "Angel"- Kree Harrison

Right off the bat, we know that the sole remaining Simon has given Kree a song that is not likely to win her many voting converts. While I am sure that many Sarah McLachlan fans like this song, so many others consider it to be boring, dreary, and most associated with images of sad puppies and kitties in shelter cages.

Kree sounds a bit nervous on this. It's definitely not her best performance, but she still has a very endearing tone and quality to her voice. My hunch is that she has come into this night, shocked to have even made it to the Finale, but resigned to seeing Candice win.

2. "Chasing Pavements"- Candice Glover

This is not my favorite Adele song, but it's a better choice for Candice than what Kree was given. Candice also seems a bit tentative vocally, but it's pretty much still in her wheelhouse, and she sounds good.

In the interest of time, the judges have not spoken at all right after the performances, but before I unpause the recording to see what Randy Jackson and Mariah Carey had to say, I award:

Round 1 to Candice Glover

Time now, for a performance by Carly Rae Jepsen that I could not care less about. I believe she came in like fourth place on Canadian Idol about five years ago. Somehow, she will have had a bigger hit than either Candice or Kree will probably ever that. That is sort of unfortunate. They, along with the other three female finalists this season are all much better singers. Also, this song is horrible.
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Next, the contestants will be singing what will be their coronation singles, if they are elected American Idol. I had read reports weeks ago, that writers and producers were working with the contestants well in advance, so that they could be involved in that process. We will see if that is mentioned.

To think, last May, Phillip Phillips was given a song called "Home", which I really did not like at all (and still do not, although it was a far better choice than what Jessica Sanchez was saddled with) and that P2 himself said he really would not have chosen for himself either. Nonetheless, that song has been everywhere in the past year and turned into a huge hit for the reigning Idol. I did not expect that to happen.

3. Kree Harrison- "All Cried Out"

Well, doesn't this song title sound like something people would rush out to buy?

The first verse is definitely a bit boring and dreary and seemed to be too similar to "Angel" from the first round. By the time Kree gets to the chorus, it picks up a bit and she has a chance to demonstrate the power in her voice, but still, I do not think anybody was really going to be blown away by this, despite the standing ovation from Keith Urban and Randy.

The judges do not speak after this song either, which means we are more than halfway done with the show and Nicki Minaj has not uttered a syllable.

4. Candice Glover- "I Am Beautiful"

My initial instinct, with the hunch that this may very well be Candice's first single, is that the title is horrible (although ironically it will find itself competing on the charts with a similar title that was just released by the Idol judge who has most championed Candice.) The song does not seem like a hit to me, but I was wrong about last year's winner's single, and perhaps a lot of young girls will like the message in it.

I find the song a bit boring, but Candice of course, sings it very well. It seems a lot more like a "winning moment" as compared to the song that Kree did. It certainly seems more uplifting, and she had televised fireworks behind her and all that. So, people will foreshadow ahead to see the confetti tomorrow night perhaps. All four judges give a standing ovation.

After the performance, Candice either looks overwhelmed by the entire situation, or angry at herself for not singing it as well as she wanted to.

Round 2 goes to Candice Glover
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The third and final round will be the contestants reprising a song from earlier in the season. Not having seen any spoilers, I am still pretty certain on what Candice is going to do, but not as much so on Kree. For her sake, she really would be smart to go with something happy and uptempo.

5. Kree Harrison- "Up to the Mountain"

Well, this is not exactly an uptempo song, but it was arguably Kree's best performance, having taken place way back during the Las Vegas rounds. Ironically though, this is the exact song that Crystal Bowersox gave a powerful version of in the Nokia Theater on a Finale performance, in what would turn out to be a losing effort.

Kree does a very good job with the song once again and I think she saved the best for last. However, I am not sure if it had the same impact as the first time she did it, because the band seemed kind of loud, and there were all sorts of background singers involved as well. People were standing up in the audience and smiling as she was singing, which felt a bit off.

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, Kree had a very strong season and ended on a strong note.

6. Candice Glover- "I Who Have Nothing"

I really thought she was going to go with "Lovesong" which I think was the best performance by anyone this season, but I suppose this was a pretty good choice too. Perhaps, it was because she already sang Adele (which is the version she does of The Cure song) that she decided to go with this performance from even earlier in the competition.

Needless to say, I expected this to be very good, but it probably even surpassed my expectations. She is just so talented, from the way she sang the first few lines acapella, to the way the she belted the big notes, while showing vocal and physical restraint.

Candice clearly came to compete and wants to win this. Her passion on this song was palpable and likely will win her some votes.

Round 3 goes to Candice Glover

Candice Glover wins the night 3 rounds to 0.
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A 3-0 decision for Candice is pretty much what I expected going into the night, and since I believe I had Candice ranked at the top every single week of the competition, it is not much a surprise at all, for me to determine that I want her to the next American Idol.

At the same time, I still think Kree Harrison has been a very worthy competitor all season. I suppose I am a bit more "soul" than "country" though as far as my musical tastes, and while Kree has crossover appeal, she is probably more effective singing before more intimate gatherings than the kind of spectacle that American Idol tried to produce tonight.

While Candice should win, I do not think it is a done deal. Kree has a lot of fans, and the person who I believed has deserved to win in many recent seasons, has not done so. Perhaps those that most frequently vote in Idol will be enough to carry the day for Kree.

However, I do think that Candice is probably going to win. It may be close, but I also would not be surprised if she wins by a solid margin. I was a bit more iffy on who would win going into the night, but everything that occurred on the stage (including Kree's apparent refusal to sing last after winning last week's coin flip) set things up all the more for a Candice coronation.

American Idol Top 3 Results

Who should have eliminated: Angie Miller
Who I predicted would be eliminated: Kree Harrison
Who was eliminated: Angie Miller

No disrespect to Angie, but I am quite pleased and surprised to be wrong about this one.

I had thought that in this somewhat unorthodox season of American Idol, Angie would stand the best chance of winning. There would be no White Guy With Guitar champion, but the next closest thing might have been a White Girl With Piano.

Instead, I think Kree picked up a lot of voters last night, whether it was due to strong performances, perceived "busing" by the Idol judges and Jimmy, or the emotional impact of her life story, as told through her Homecoming video. Showing those on the actual voting night, which is a relatively new thing, definitely has the potential of changing votes.

As for Angie, she is very talented, and could have a nice future in the music business. Whether that is as a mainstream pop artist or as a Christian Contemporary singer remains to be seen. The path to short-term success and profit might be through the latter for her. My perception is that while both Candice and Kree might have kept being surprised to have gotten as far as they have in this competition, Angie was solely focused on winning from the start, and believed she would. I do not necessarily think that is a bad thing, but this has to be somewhat of a tough pill for her to swallow.

So, I suppose that the old "Red State" voting habits of American Idol die hard, and a young girl (no matter how religious) from outside Boston was not able to get enough votes out of the Heartland.

With just one exception in its entire history (that of my virtual former neighbor Lee DeWyze), every single Idol winner has come from a state that typically votes Republican for President, including in the most recent 2012 election. Furthermore, they almost always come from the South.

Those trends will continue this year as the winner will either be Candice Glover from South Carolina, or Kree, a Texan who now lives in Tennessee.

I am happy that they are the last two standing. I think they have easily been the best and most consistent singers all season, and also come across as likeable and humble people. They have also proven that a woman does not need to be "skinny" to make it to the top.

It's been a weird season of American Idol, and more changes are supposedly in store for next year. The good news though is that this year will feature a final showdown between the two most deserving people of the entire season. That is definitely rare on televised singing competitions.

American Idol Top 3

I have had a day that I absolutely wish to forget, related to personal computer issues. It's been a nightmare, but I think I have survived the worst of it (at least for now) and I need to remind myself that things can always be worse. And to think, I was so relatively happy when I went to sleep last night, due to sports and electoral results. I should never have gotten out of bed today.

Anyway, I guess the way to end my day is to watch a recording of American Idol, which I of course missed, and live blog it as I go. I really have no desire to write a lot though. I want to get this over with as soon as possible.

Round 1- Jimmy Iovine selections

1. Kree Harrison- "Perfect"

Is she the one they are going to try to bus this week? Kree is a really good singer, but she does not seem to be the same type of vocalist as Pink. I thought she gave her best, but this was not really a great song choice for her, nor her best results. Now, time to see what the judges (and maybe Jimmy) had to say.

2. Candice Glover- "One"

The songs do seem short thus far in this round, but I suppose the contestants had a lot to do this week and not much time to practice. That being said, Candice was as powerful and good on this song as I would have expected her to be. Mary J. Blige once covered this on an Idol Gives Back special or something like that, and Candice is very much that type of singer. So, good job for Jimmy for selecting this and good job for Candice in a strong interpretation.

3. Angie Miller- "Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word"

Jimmy went more old school for this song choice. I am sort of mixed on it. On one hand, Angie seemed to hit most of the big notes, but this was just so very theatrical and seemed like someone that would be on Broadway. Still though, it suited her style, slightly more than the song that was chosen for Kree.

Does Mariah have a bug on her bosom?

Round one rankings:

3. Kree Harrison
2. Angie Miller
1. Candice Glover

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Round 2- Judges' picks

Switching up the order. I am too exhausted to deliberate on if that is fair or unfair.

4. Candice Glover- "Next To Me"

Mark Sanford of South Carolina got his old job back this week, but somehow I do not think Candice will ever need to try to settle for her getting her old job in the state back. Good to see Governor Nikki Haley on American Idol, proclaiming Candice Glover Day in the Palmetto State. She certainly deserves it.

I do not know this song, and while it might not have been my favorite, Candice still pretty much sang the heck out of it, as she usually does.

5. Angie Miller- "Try"

It has been hard in recent decades for Northeasterners, especially those from the Bay State to get elected President, and the same has held true in Idol voting history. However, Angie has a very good chance of breaking that streak. She returned home to Massachusetts, a state that has been so very much in the news lately, to some strong local support.

This was a good song choice for her, and she seemed to be able to pull off Pink's vocal style a bit better than Kree was earlier in the night. I think the background singers helped a lot too though, but I considered this to be a pretty strong performance for Angie, who, along with Candice, seem to really want to advance.

6. Kree Harrison- "Here Comes Goodbye"

Kree's visit to Texas had its video piece focus much on the family tragedies in her past. I guess that was somewhat unavoidable, but there may be a polarized reaction to it. I certainly do not feel negatively all towards Kree and I recognized last week that during one of her songs, she was connecting to the lyrics, thinking about her deceased parents. That was confirmed by what she said back home.

This was a very good vocal for Kree, and all three of the girls had a very strong round. While right in her country wheelhouse, Kree sang it in a way that also likely appealed to many non-country fans, and I thought that as good as Candice and Angie were, Kree was slightly the best at vocal proficiency and being able to establish a connection on this song.

Round 2 rankings: 

3. Angie Miller
2. Candice Glover
1. Kree Harrison
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Round 3- "Idol Production" Picks

7. Angie Miller- "Maybe"

This is another song I do not know, and Angie seemed not as strong as she was in the last round. Playing the piano, she came across a bit tentative in the first part of the song, and then she kicked into gear, and it was ok, but her voice just seemed a bit loud and shrill at parts, especially right at the end.

8. Kree Harrison- "Better Dig Too"

I have never heard this song either, but based on the lyrics, The Band Perry, must really enjoy morbid themes. Also, it was a good thing that Kree was not shown visiting her parents graves during her trip home, or this song would have been really inappopriate.

Anyways, I think Kree struggles a bit on the performance and comfort aspect of more up-tempo songs like this, but vocally, she was still pretty strong, though not as good as the last round.

The judges did not like it too much.

9. Candice Glover- "Somewhere"

Well, someone in "Idol Production" clearly wants her in the Finale. It was an interesting song choice to give her, but a lot of older Idol viewers will probably love it. The same is likely to be said for fans of Glee. I wonder if Candice would beat out Rachel for the role of Maria in West Side Story now.

This was an extremely good vocal, even to the non-Broadway fans, and Candice has proven all season that she can pretty much sing anything, and she demonstrated that three times tonight. Hopefully, it will pay off.


Round 3 rankings:

3. Angie Miller
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

Overall rankings:

3. Angie Miller
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

To me, the power rankings are clear this season. Kree and Candice deserve to sing for the title, though I doubt that Kree would be able to overcome a built in runners up bias in the eyes of many.

That being said, there is no result tomorrow that might shock me. Candice is going to need to get a lot of votes to advance. The person who I think is most likely to make it to the Finale happens to be Angie, even though I think the other two ladies are better.

When all is said and done, I will stick with my prediction from a couple weeks back of Kree, (unfortunately) bowing out in third place.

U.S. House Special Elections- Update

South Carolina

1. (vacant upon U.S. Senate appointment of Tim Scott-R)
won by Romney with 58% of vote

Tossup (R)- change from Leans R

American Idol Top 4 Part II Results

Who should have been eliminated (based on last night's scoring): Angie Miller
Who I predicted would be eliminated: Amber Holcomb
Who was eliminated: Amber Holcomb

Well, there we are, just as I envisioned. In a sense, Amber should be quite happy that there was a general amnesty offered after the Top 4 first performed last week, because I thought she scored the lowest that week, and the votes likely would have eliminated her. My hunch is that the vote difference from last week was just too much for her to overcome with this additional round.

So, she had an extra week, but seemed to be struggling a bit with her emotions. She clearly was disappointed tonight, (perhaps because she was unable to get through her sing-off) but should feel proud of what she accomplished, considering that the judges did not even put her through to the Semifinals last year. She also should feel optimistic about the future, as she is likely the most marketable of any Idol Finalist this season, and might very well have a chance to get signed after the tour is over. Then, she will get a chance to put her skills to use on a bigger platform.

Anyways, I do not feel like writing much else tonight, but now we have the Top 3, and I think the results are probably going to go down as I wrote they would last night, which means, I will probably be disappointed at the outcomes for the next two weeks.

American Idol Top 4- Part II

As it turned out, tonight, both of Chicago's playoff teams were off, so I was able to watch American Idol live, and now I am going to offer some comments. I really want to keep this brief though as I just do not have a lot to say. I always enjoy Idol season, but the past few seasons, it has started to get a bit tedious at this point in  the competition. I really feel my ratings are somewhat irrelevant to the process for me now, because I pretty much always come up with the same results. It's just really all about personal preference at this point, and for some time, Candice Glover has been the only contestant who has managed to make every performance interesting. So, it's hard for me to ever get to a place where she is not ranked at the top.

While the other three girls are also quite talented, something just seems to be missing, as it relates to the competition. The girls were clearly better than the guys this season, but it does feel like there should be some greater diversity, at least stylistically at this point.

Tonight, the contestants sang songs as they did last season, from the "Then" and the "Now," except Now started off the evening. I wish it was the other way around, because I really found most of the last hour, which was dedicated to Standards, pretty boring. Finally, after a night of almost exclusively ballads, the kids did some sort of weird group number that involved dancing, and I am forced to rank them on it.

Harry Connick Jr. was the guest mentor tonight, and I find him sort of unlikable. I think others out there may share my view. Others though had talked about him in recent years as a potential addition to the Idol judges' panel. I probably would not like that, but I am basically tired of all four of the current judges this season now as well.

There was some scripted interaction and fighting between Nicki and Mariah tonight, designed so people might have something to talk about tomorrow in the media.

Round 1, Songs from 2013-

1. Angie Miller- "Diamonds"

Playing the piano once again, Angie put her own acoustic take on the recent Rihanna hit. I thought it was pretty good all around and was surprised that the judges did not seem to like it. Perhaps it is because I do not like the original song, but I thought Angie was able to bring some vitality to it. After spending weeks of building her up, the judges seemed intent on "busing" her after this performance.

2. Amber Holcomb- "Just Give Me a Reason"

Amber entered the night as the contestant most at risk of missing out on the Top 3 Homecoming visit, and she chose to sing the song that is currently number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

I actually sort of like this song by Pink and that guy from the group Fun, but maybe this was not the best idea for Amber to select, because she clearly did not know the lyrics in her mentoring session and she seemed really sort of hesitant tonight, as if she was focused extremely hard on just not messing up as her buddy Lazaro would have. I thought it sounded decent, but that it was a  bit off rhythmically  and not Amber's best showing.

3. Candice Glover- "If I Was Your Man"

Before she sang, much was mentioned about how Candice would be singing the Bruno Mars hit, without changing the pronoun. It's not really that shocking in 2013 to hear songs done that way on competition shows I suppose, but I note that if Candice were a man, winning Idol would have been easier from the outset!

This was really good to me. Candice and Angie both seem like the contestants who are most focused on actually winning, and while Lazaro might have made some comments a couple weeks ago about how one of the females was too focused on winning, I actually think those are good traits for someone in a competition.

Vocally, Candice is the most interesting and the most technically proficient all season, by far and whether she is deemed marketable or not, she would be a deserving winner.

4. Kree Harrison- "See You Again"

I was thinking that the first three contestants had all done songs that were number one on the Billboard Hot 100 so far this year, and I wondered if the only two remaining were "The Harlem Shake" and "Thrift Shop." Which one would Kree cover?

Well, instead Kree sang a Carrie Underwood song, which the artist herself performed on the Idol stage a few weeks back. A lot of people noted that Carrie sounded sort of pitchy singing that live. From what I remember, I think Kree was superior to the original vocally.

While the judges found much to criticize, I actually thought this was one of Kree's better performances. To me, she seemed quite emotionally attached to the song (perhaps because of the lyrical meaning) and I thought her voice was pretty much spot on.

Round 1 rankings, pretty much just as I would have expected-

4. Amber Holcomb
3. Angie Miller
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover


Round 2- Standards:

5. Angie Miller- "Someone To Watch Over Me"

Katharine McPhee did this song on Idol, and I guess it was nice, and then Allison Iraheta did it a few years later, and that was interesting, but I really was dreading having to sit through this song again.

Angie has a very nice and pretty voice, but this song is just so boring, and her version made it even worse. In fact, I was most distracted while she was singing by the fact that I caught a brief glimpse of what appeared to be a very large tattoo consisting of several words (perhaps a Bible verse?) along the side of her upper body. That is a side of her we have not seen before. I wonder if a lot of people noticed, because it was pretty brief. She's only 18. I assume her parents knew about it before tonight, especially since her whole family seems to be inked up. The brother has some sort of tattoo on his skull. I just do not understand these things.

6. Amber Holcomb- "My Funny Valentine"

It has to be said. Amber already did this song during a "live" round (impressively), back in Las Vegas. It is an awfully risky preposition to reprise something at this stage in the competition, when there are so many other options. Usually, that is only done in the Finale. If other contestants had attempted to do such a thing in past seasons, I think the judges would have criticized them for it. At least Amber would be quite familiar with the lyrics in this round, as she promised to be after her last performance.

Vocally, this was a good performance by Amber, maybe even better than when she originally did it, but I am sick of this song on Idol, and really wish Amber had attempted something else.

The main thing that people will remember though was that there were many tears from Amber (and her father) after the performance. It seemed like she was more sad/angry than emotionally proud of her performance. Before she sang, she probably had heard the audio of the interaction of her mentoring session with Connick for this performance, and she received an extremely bad edit. Perhaps so much for her being "The Chosen One." After her not knowing her lyrics for the first song and being called on for that, she really came across as sort of dumb in not knowing what the lyrics of this song really referred to. I am mixed as to whether Connick was just being a jerk or if Amber, at age 19, and having sang this song multiple times, probably should have understood it better.

Will the tears have won Amber some much needed votes? After the commercial break, Harry Connick, seated in the audience, inferred that he disagreed with the judges and did not think Amber had a good performance. That absolutely has to be a first for an Idol mentor, after the song was sung on stage (although Connick himself was invited to make comments when he performed on stage with the contestants back in Season 9.)

7. Candice Glover- "You've Changed"

I do not know this song, and I am sure would normally find it boring, but Candice sang it very well, and at least it had never been done on Idol before. She is extremely good at the sort of jazzy old school thing. After being de-pimped a bit by the judges last week, they seemed to be back on board tonight.

8. Kree Harrison- "Stormy Weather"

I do not think this song has been done before on Idol during the frequent "Standards" theme nights, so that was a plus. This was the first time Kree had been given the pimp slot (although technically there was one more performance to come), and I thought she sang this old song very well and it was a nice (although somewhat boring) performance.

The judges were not all really feeling it though and neither was Connick, who had advised Kree to sing it without runs, which Kree seemed to disregard ultimately. There was a big fight afterwards between Randy Jackson and Connick regarding if she should have sang the original Lena Horne version or the more bluesy Etta James. Personally, I think Kree should have added in the runs, because at least it would have made it seem more current. I suppose that is what she did after all. I guess.

Round Two rankings:

4. Angie Miller
3. Amber Holcomb
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

Group Performance:

9. "Wings"- Amber Holcomb, Angie Miller, Candice Glover, and Kree Harrison

With about a half hour left in the show, it seemed like things were running fast and there would be a lot of extra time. This was what they had planned though.


I had to look up this song title and I see it is by Little Mix, who I believe were from The X-Factor UK. Do people in this country really know who they are?

This was just weird all around but I guess I had no choice but to rank them. At first, I was not even sure if the contestants were singing live or if there was a backing tape, as they did their thing, alongside some female backup dancers.

Honestly, the only voices I was able to even distinguish here were Candice and Amber. Did Angie and Kree even have any solo parts? It just felt so out of place, after having had so many ballads precede it.

If I am forced to rank this:

4. Angie Miller
3. Kree Harrison
2. Amber Holcomb
1. Candice Glover

Composite rankings:

4. Angie Miller
3. Amber Holcomb
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

No more saves. Someone is definitely "going home"  tomorrow night (when I will be watching the NBA Playoffs) , and by going home, I mean staying in Hollywood to prepare for the Finale, while the other three will literally be going home for emotionally powerful visits, and potentially vote-altering production pieces that will air next week on the show.

I think Angie had the weakest night, I suppose, but it is really hard to say that Amber was all that much better. Angie was better I thought on the current stuff tonight. If anything, Amber cheated a bit by reprising a song, but I do think she was better in that round. So, in a way I really do not care which one of them is eliminated, but I do hope it is one of them.

The votes from last week are going to carry over, and thus Amber and Candice have the most at risk. I think Candice came out with something to prove tonight, while Amber seemed a bit resigned to an unfortunate fate. Will the crying thing though get her votes after her second song? I have not bothered to vote tonight, but it would be a tremendous shame if Candice becomes a shock boot tomorrow night. That would sure create buzz for the show though. A lot of people will seem to think that Angie and Kree are very much at risk of leaving tomorrow, but they were the Top 2 last week, and have those votes in the bank and I do not think they are going to be losing any of their already established fanbases.

My macro prediction at this stage in the competition:

Amber leaves tomorrow and then Kree leaves in third place next week. The Finale will be between Candice and Angie, where Candice will deserve to win, but the victory will go to Angie.

American Idol Top 4- Part I Results

I just finished watching the program, and it went down pretty much as I expected.

Who should have been eliminated: Amber Holcomb
Who I predicted would be eliminated, if anyone would be: Amber Holcomb
Who was eliminated: nobody- the contestants were granted amnesty


Since we now know for sure that the save is gone, and that the Finale is at a set date, it only makes sense that this would be done.  I am glad that the 38 million votes cast this week, will carry over until next week with the theme of "Then and Now", leaving the Top 3 with a built in advantage going into the evening.

Idol has not eliminated contestants before due to a technical snafu and once during Idol Gives Back week, but an announcement like this has never really been done before. I do not think that the contestants were too surprised by this "twist" when it was announced at the end of the hour, but Candice Glover sure was emotional nonetheless.

I was a bit disappointed to see her in the Bottom Two, as I think she is the best singer week after week, including this round, but I have to assume that she is splitting a lot of votes with her fellow African-American, Amber Holcomb. We never did find out which one of them was the lowest vote-getter, but my guess is still that it was Amber. Both of their fanbases will be fired up to cast even more votes next week in order to save them, but they are likely to still split votes, and one of them will remain very much at risk. However, I also think it is likely that once either Amber or Candice leave, the other girl is going to be heavily favored to survive Top 3 week and make it into the Finale.

Depending on how the performances go next Wednesday, it would be a terrible shame if Candice is the person who has to go home in 4th place. I might even potentially be motivated to cast a rare vote or two via telephone, but I also recognize that I may not even be able to watch the show next Wednesday night (or blog about it) because I have some things going on, and I think there may be an NHL Playoff game to concentrate on at the same time on Wednesday. Whatever the situation next week, I will eventually watch both evenings of Idol and eventually post a blog entry or entries about them.

American Idol Top 4

This entry may be a bit shorter than usual, because if I am being honest, I found tonight's Idol show to be a bit tedious.

Yes, the talent was good, and in many cases closely matched, but something just felt off about the performances and the song choices. There just really is not much in the way of surprises among these ladies at this point in the competition.

Everyone sings well and everyone did well tonight for the most part, but it was all sort of on the same plane, and when that happens, it pretty much comes down to preferring the voice you have liked the most from the beginning. For me this season, that has been Candice Glover. Behind her has typically been Kree Harrison, and while Amber Holcomb and Angie Miller deserve to be where they are, they have usually been about even for me, a step behind Candice and Kree.

Tonight, it felt like the judges went way overboard in praising Amber and Angie and were deliberately critical at times towards Candice and Kree. It really does feel like manipulation at this point in the competition, but we really just have to enjoy the ride I suppose. I think Idol would prefer if Angie and Amber battle for the crown, but to me, it looks like Candice and Angie may be the last two standing.

Tonight saw the contestants sing two solo songs, with duets stuck in between those rounds. I found the first round to be extremely evenly matched from first to fourth. I found both duets pretty good and also evenly matched for the most part. The third round saw one performance I did not like and three that were pretty good. Nothing was spectacular tonight though, and I was somewhat let down by the failure to capitalize regarding song choices in what could have been a really fun final round.

If past seasons of Idol were the model, there would be no save available tomorrow night, and then the three that advance will get the big emotional hometown visits this weekend. It seems like something is going to be different this week though, and at the end of the show, we heard Seacrest, who had said nothing about the Homecoming visits all night, say there would be a special "twist" revealed tomorrow. I think I know what that might be.

Anyways, let's take a quick look at the ten performances.

Round 1, contestants choice:

1. Amber Holcomb- "The Power of Love"

Amber came out with a distinctive look tonight and sang this first song very well. I just wish she could have found a way to do something more "current" than a Celine Dion ballad. The judges may have loved it, but I do not think that if she is signed by Interscope, this is the kind of music they will have her do. She sounded good, but I thought I detected some fatigue or weakness in her voice as she tried to belt out the big notes. The judges went a bit overboard in praising it, with Jimmy Iovine then speaking afterwards. Throughout the night, I thought he made some good"voice of reason" comments, but I did not always agree with him either though.

2.  Candice Glover- "Find Your Love"

I really do not know much about Drake, other than Chris Brown got into a fight with him at a club, and the very troubled Amanda Bynes recently tweeted something about him. Still though, I give Candice great credit for doing something current and what I assume was putting her own spin on the song. She has been a very imaginative and definitely un-karaoke contestant throughout this season.

The song was not really that exciting to me, and it felt like it did not have much in the way of melody, but I still cannot help but always enjoy Candice's powerful vocals. She seems to have so much going for her, but the judges surprised me a bit by giving her some criticism regarding the song choice. Could it be that they are trying to de-pimp her a bit?

3. Kree Harrison- "Hurt So Bad"

This is another song that I just do not know, but I give Kree credit for doing something a bit different than a ballad in this round. I thought she gave a very credible and nicely done bluesy performance. The judges seemed to be critical though. Since it has been about three hours now, I find the specifics of Kree's first song to be a bit forgotten by me at this point.

4. Angie Miller- "Who You Are"

I must be really old, because while I have heard of Jessie J., I do not know this song. She seems to be Angie's favorite though (at least as far as secular artists) as she has covered her several times throughout this Idol process.

Playing the piano again, I thought Angie started off the performance very well and I had high expectations, Then, it started getting a bit overwrought and vocally flawed to me though. She continues to be a very engaging performer, but while it was decent overall, something about her voice graded on me. The judges really loved it though and of course proclaimed how Angie was "in it to win it."

Afterwards. Angie's very emotional grandmother was allowed to come on stage and hug her. If senior citizens types are voting, that is definitely going to benefit Angie greatly. 

Round 1 rankings: 

4. Angie Miller
3. Amber Holcomb
2, Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

Round 2- Duets (sorta seemed similar to the Battle Rounds on The Voice)

5. Amber Holcomb and Kree Harrison- "Rumor Has It"

There was not really any attempts at harmony in this duet, but Amber and Kree both sounded pretty good in their solo parts, taking on this Adele song.  It was very evenly matched, but I suppose I would have to give a slight edge to Kree. The judges, especially Nicki Minaj seemed to give the edge to Candice, and at one point in the evening, Nicki seemed to predict a Kree elimination.

6. Angie Miller and Candice Glover- "Stay"

There certainly had been a lot of recent songs at this point in the evening, as Angie and Candice took the stage to sing a Rihanna song that one of the male contestants had done in the Vegas round.

This was a really good effort for both, but I cannot help but notice that Candice was able to overpower Angie at points, especially when they attempted to harmonize.

Duet rankings:

4. Angie Miller
3. Amber Holcomb
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

Round  3- One-hit Wonders

The Idol public had decided on this theme, and I thought it had great potential. I thought that instead of some really new songs, or really old songs, we would hear some of the beloved tunes from the 80s, 90s, and 00s, that were surprise hits for a singer or group who never managed to achieve any success.

Perhaps some "Rico Sauve" or "Come On Eileen", or "We Are the World." Let's face it, USA for Africa never amounted to much after that one song. The songs chosen by all four of the girls though was a bit confusing, both as to why they picked them, and why they should be considered one-hit wonders. I suppose it is what it is though.

7. Amber Holcomb- "MacArthur Park"

My first thought upon hearing the song choice, was how this was a one-hit wonder, if the only version people really know was by Donna Summer, and second that if anybody is going home tomorrow night, Amber just accomplished that distinction.

This was a bad song choice of a bad song, and Amber, while a very good singer, did not sing it well, despite what the judges said. At least Jimmy Iovine kept it sort of real on that. Even Carrie Underwood had a poor performance of this song on Idol back in her season, and I thought Amber was even worse vocally. I thought her lower notes sounded pretty off here, and while it was not a Lazaro-like mess, it was the one really subpar vocal of the night.

8. Candice Glover- "Emotions"

So, I learned that someone may have originally done this song, but everyone associates this with the Bee Gees. They were hardly a one-hit wonder and this song has also been done before on Idol. 

I have to say that Candice sang this extremely well and made it enjoyable, but it definitely did not have the impact of some of her other performances this season. Who knows how long the list of songs to choose from where for them, but I think she could have slayed a more creative song choice and had a real "moment."

9. Kree Harrison- "A Whiter Shade of Pale"

I have heard of this song, though I guess I never really heard it before, because it seemed unfamiliar and a little boring. That is not to say that Kree did not sing it very well. Her tone and voice in general are really so good but I still wish she would show more "fire."

10. Angie Miller- "Cry Me a River"

No, this was not the Justin Timberlake song from the last decade. It would not have been a one-hit wonder then, but instead was apparently a really old song, that nobody under the age of 60 would likely to be familiar with. My parents knew it though of course.

I am not sure what Angie was trying to accomplish with this song choice, and I have no memory of how the song actually goes, but I do remember that Angie sang it very well and exceeded expectations. I guess she can claim that she was able to show some versatility. The judges said this was the best vocal of the night. I would not go that far, but I think Angie had a strategically productive evening.

Round 3 rankings-

4. Amber Holcomb
3. Kree Harrison
2. Angie Miller
1. Candice Miller

Overall rankings-

4. Amber Holcomb
3. Angie Miller
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Miller

As I mentioned early on, in making these rankings, it may just be about personal preferences now, though I tried to be as fair as possible in judging the vocals. I just think that Candice, even when she is not at her best, has the best voice, and Kree is very good too, even though she should be even better.

Tonight, I basically had a tie between Amber and Angie, but gave a slight edge to Angie, due to her having a much stronger showing than Amber in the the last round.

The numbers were given and people are voting, so what will happen? A lot of people think that Kree is now in very serious jeopardy, but I think she is going to pick up a lot of country music votes from the recently departed Janelle Arthur fans. She may be in the Bottom Two, but my hunch is that she will survive.

Despite some incredibly strong praise by the judges, I think Amber Holcomb will be at the bottom. She has been in the Bottom Two before, and it may very well happen again, especially as she is likely splitting African-American, R&B, and diva fan votes with Candice. She might also be splitting Lone Star votes with native Texan Kree, although Kree probably now has Nashville, TN to herself. (Speaking of Texas, best wishes to a great American and a great President,George W. Bush, as his Presidential Library will be dedicated tomorrow in Dallas.)  Going first in the night and having such uninspired song choices definitely will not help Amber either.

So, while Amber is a very good singer, if anybody is going home tomorrow (while I will be watching the NBA Playoffs), I think it will be Amber. Is there still a "save" to sing for? I have no idea. If so, I could imagine the judges saving her, but we heard late in the night that a "twist" will be revealed. My suspicion is that everyone will be safe, after we hear the results, and then just one person leaving the following week, with the Final Three getting their Homecoming visits, and then Finale week happening as scheduled.

I will be fine with that, as long as this week's votes carry over to combine with whatever the people decide next week. If that does not happen, this entire evening of singing and voting was for naught.

Congrats to all of the very talented Final Four. I just wish it was a more exciting evening. Hopefully, the sick children whom the ladies visited in the hospital this week, enjoyed being part of the show, and that they will all one day experience good health, that will allow them, like Amber, Angie, Candice, and Kree, the opportunity to live their dreams as well.

American Idol Top 5 Results

With Paula Abdul, Clay Aiken, Fantasia, LaToya London, and Jordin Sparks, all returning to Idol tonight, it felt at times as if it was several years into the past. I just wish that meant George W. Bush was still President.

Who should have been eliminated: Janelle Arthur
Who I predicted would be eliminated (minus save being used): Janelle Arthur
Who was eliminated: Janelle Arthur

So, basically I am not at all surprised with the voting results, but am pretty surprised the judges did not use their save. We are told they were split 2-2. I guess we can assume that Nicki Minaj did not wish to save Janelle.

Singing for the save, at a time when many people assumed it would be a given, Janelle reprised, "You Keep Me Hangin' On."  She sounded pretty good on it once again, but it was without her guitar this time, and it lacked the impact that it had a few weeks back, the first time we heard her original, impressive arrangement. Still though, I assumed they would use the save, just to use it.

Nothing was said by Seacrest about this being the last week the save was available. Many people assumed that it was going to be off the table after last week. In past seasons, we were always told the save would expire at a certain point in the season, but this year Idol producers seem to want to keep it available until they decide they need it. All of this still leaves questions as to what will happen if it is used, and if one or two people will have to leave the next week. I will leave it for others to determine how all this affects the number of weeks left before the official Season Finale. I will just try to enjoy the ride.

Janelle is a very good singer and seems quite likable on television. However, she was a bit inconsistent in her Idol performances. She seems to be a bit of a natural actress, so maybe that or television hosting work will be a career avenue for her, in addition to her singing. She has the potential to make in the country world I suppose.

Kree Harrison, a more polished vocalist, was said to be in the Bottom Two, with her good friend Janelle tonight, in what may have been a surprise to many. With Janelle gone, Kree stands to benefit from picking up the support of more country music fans. To a large extent, Amber Holcomb and Candice Glover may be splitting the vote, and perhaps one of them will potentially be at risk for elimination next week (and then promptly be saved I guess.) Angie Miller seems to have her own fan base, but I would be surprised if she winds up as the eventual winner.

At beginning parts of the season, I pegged Janelle as someone who could be a frontrunner to take the Idol crown. She did very well to go as far as she did, but after having outlasted all the guys, it was her time to go.

The Idol television ratings may be as low as they have ever been, but the Final Four this season, are maybe note for note, the strongest final quartet the show has ever seen, at least from a technical standpoint. The good news for Idol fans such as myself, who do not have a vested rooting interest, is that the most deserving four singers of the season are the last ones standing. May the best woman win.

American Idol Top 5

Just a couple days after a trying and frightening day in America, the television program American Idol returned to the air, to hopefully serve as a positive entertainment driven diversion, amid the reality we live in.

My feelings about this particular night of singing were a bit mixed. With Lazaro and the rest of the males gone, nothing was bad tonight. All performances were credible, but I do not know if I considered anything to be spectacular. There were though some intense vocal moments that were maybe lacking a bit of technique, along with some stellar technical singing, that felt a bit flat emotionally to me.

All things considered, the five remaining ladies likely have more than enough pure vocal talent to compete with some of the biggest female names on the charts today. At least they can usually sing well live, without Autotune. Somebody will get the lowest number of votes though tomorrow and will be the first woman to do so this season. I really do not know if the save is still "on the table" or not. If it is, for this final week, there seems to be little doubt that the judges will feel obligated to use it on whomever.

The most interesting aspect of the whole night, and one that might garner the most conversation was that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey actually interacted tonight. At one point, it looked like a bit of a scripted disagreement between them, but otherwise, Nicki seemed to be going out of her way to praise Mariah. In return, Mariah clapped to a comment Nicki made a couple of times. For most of the season, they would not even look at each other's direction. Perhaps this was in the spirit of the week and America Coming Together, but most likely, Idol producers told them they had to do it.

For the first round, the ladies sang songs from the year of their birth.

1. Candice Glover- "Straight Up"

When we last saw Miss Glover in a performance round, she was being praised for a single performance in a way that perhaps no Idol ever had before. After such a treatment, anything she would have done here might have felt like a bit of a let down.

Technically, Candice was in fine voice, on a scaled back, jam band feel version of a 1989 dance hit by original Idol judge Paula Abdul. It sounded good, but the performance just felt a bit ho-hum, as if Candice knew she could sing it, by just going through the motions. Maybe she had earned the right to coast a bit here though.

2. Janelle Arthur- "When I Call Your Name"

Also born in 1989, Janelle sang a Vince Gill song I had never heard, and that might have been risky for her, because only serious country fans were likely familiar with the number. It had some nice moments, and she seemed emotionally connected as she played guitar along with her vocals, but some notes sounded off to me. Looking back now, a bit under three hours after watching the performance, I really cannot remember much about the song.

3. Kree Harrison- "She Talks To Angels"

I was a bit surprised to realize that Kree was born in 1990, and is thus younger than both of the ladies that preceded her. She just is presented on the show in such a maternal way. I was pleased with this song choice, but I felt old, as I remember when this Black Crowes song debuted.

This was not commented upon by the judges, but something happened early in the song, where it appears that Kree missed a vocal entrance. I am not sure if that means she forgot the words, or if something else happened, but I noticed it, and then at parts in the song, it seemed like Kree knew she was not delivering her best, and was trying to overcompensate vocally. She has been so strong throughout the season, but the middle of this performance felt a bit sloppy. At the end though, she hit some good notes and ended strongly.

4. Angie Miller- "I'll Stand By You"

I wonder if Angie had been preparing to do this song for the full week, or if she suddenly decided to give it a try after the tragic terrorist attack in her home area of Boston on Monday. As she began singing, she dedicated the song to Boston, ensuring that she would be receiving a standing ovation and much praise from the judges no matter what, and probably certain immunity from elimination. It should be noted that Angie is the only non-Southerner left in the competition (which was still the case as many as two weeks ago), but her kind of Christian worship style might appeal most to many in the Red States.

Considering that I like this song, and wanted Angie to do well for the people in Boston, I really wish I could say that this was a great vocal. I thought she struggled in several ways, and while she is emotionally connected while playing at the piano, I do not think this particular song worked well with the instrument. While a strong vocalist, I do not think Angie's voice and style of enunciating suited this performance well. I just like the original and several other cover versions better.

Also, while the judges skipped over this, Angie definitely had a couple of lyric flubs, stopping herself in mid-word at one point before getting back on track. She looked a bit more nervous and tentative than usual, which has me wondering just how long she had been rehearsing this particular number. Still though, this had to have been an emotional couple of days for her, and I am sure her performance had a tremendous impact on many, especially the people back home.

5. Amber Holcomb- "Without You"

This was a song from way back from before even I was born, but Amber, born in 1994, was able to use it because, Idol judge Mariah Carey covered it that year. So, she would be singing it in front of Mariah herself, a huge risk, but it is not as if Mariah was suddenly going to be mean to her.

While she was singing, I was somewhat distracted by the images on the Idol screens behind her. I know that they were singing songs from the year they were born, but the visuals looked like they might have been from the year she was conceived, in a microscope sort of way.

This song has been done on Idol several times in seasons past, and probably better than Amber did tonight, but still, I thought she did enough to succeed on it, especially on the high notes in the chorus. The lower notes on the verse were maybe not as good, but some credit has to be given to her in taking on a tough, emotional song, and mostly pulling it off. So, for the degree of difficulty, and with the emotional factor tied in, it was probably slightly the best of this round, even more so than Candice, who coasted a bit.

I think it was in this round that Keith Urban, enthused about the performance made reference to an "Amber Alert", and then immediately realized how inappropriate it was to joke in that way. Funny, I have been assuming for weeks that it would be Randy Jackson who would somehow fall into that trap.

Round 1-

5. Angie Miller
4. Janelle Arthur
3. Kree Harrison
2. Candice Glover
1. Amber Holcomb
________________________________________________________________________________

Next, since the guys were finally gone, the girls were assigned to sing songs from their "favorite Divas."  Doesn't VH1 do something like that ever year?

6. Candice Glover- "When You Believe"

This is the third time this Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey duet has been done on Idol, and while I am not crazy about the song, there is no doubt that Candice sang the heck out of it.  Of course Mariah, was sure to give major props to Candice, as did Nicki, who talked about how inspiring the song was to her growing up. I wonder what Mariah was really thinking while Nicki was speaking.

So, good job to Candice for once again having a powerful vocal and making me appreciate her on a song I tend to find a bit boring.

7. Janelle Arthur- "Dumb Blonde"

I had not seen any spoilers, so I guessed Janelle would be doing Dolly Parton, seconds before Seacrest announced it. My thinking was that Janelle would once again try to do something emotional, like "Smokey Mountain Memories" or maybe a more fun song like "9 to 5." Instead, she sang "Dumb Blonde", which I had never heard of, and many others at home probably were clueless about as well. That was a risky and potential miscalculation.

Janelle is an endearing performer, but this particular performance felt more Dollywood theme park than Hollywood #inittowinit. While it was not an offensive to the ears vocal, I felt there were enough bum notes to think it was all that good. Somebody has to be the first girl to go, and maybe Janelle was just resigned to it going in. She was a bit teary eyed (again) after Keith Urban was the only judge to give her negative feedback in her first performance. He did not seem to really like this one either.

8. Kree Harrison- "Have You Ever Been In Love"

I do not know this Celine Dion ballad, but vocally Kree was quite strong again. Her voice is almost always stellar, but there is just something missing. She is just too laid back at times, and many of her performances are starting to sound alike. I think in Round 1, she was attempting to do something different, but in my view, did not completely live up to expectations on it. Looking back on the performance, there is not much I remember about it or the song, other than Kree sounded very nice on it.

9. Angie Miller- "Halo"

Taking on Beyonce was an interesting and gutsy choice for Angie. Before she began, I wondered though if maybe this was the one she should have done seated at the piano, as opposed to having done that with the first song.

All things considered, I think Angie got about as much mileage out of this as she could. I do not think that Beyonce, as big of a star as she is, is considered an amazing live vocalist, and in that realm, while maybe not every note for Angie was perfect, she really felt the song and seemed to be pouring her heart and soul into performing it. I thought it was much better vocally than her first song. I believe she received standing ovations for both.

10. Amber Holcomb-"What Are You Doing For the Rest of Your Life"

It seemed obvious, perhaps in retrospect too obvious, that Amber might sing a dramatic Whitney Houston ballad to close out the night, so it was maybe a surprise to some when we heard she would be singing Barbra Streisand. I guess that is a way to appeal to any of the older undecided Jewish female vote that might be out there.

I only have heard this song because Fantasia once sang it on Idol, and I felt it was a pretty boring song. That is still my impression, but I have to say that Amber really impressed vocally and sang it exquisitely. She must really have a strong jazz standard vocal background and while I do not think she had been great on her uptempo attempts for the most part, she certainly has proven that she is a talented, versatile singer.

Round Two Rankings, which much like last week, proved to be stronger than Round One:

5. Janelle Arthur
4. Kree Harrison
3. Angie Miller
2. Amber Holcomb
1. Candice Glover
________________________________________________________________________________
Then, I had to average the two rounds together, and in all the years of doing so, I think this is the closest to a tie for first place I have ever had:

5. Janelle Arthur
4. Angie Miller
3. Kree Harrison
2. Amber Holcomb
1. Candice Glover

For Amber to basically tie Candice on the evening in my mind is quite a feat. If not for her spot singing last and a very strong night, Amber would have been at the most risk of getting the least votes. She was probably placed in the spot she was for a reason. Due to those factors, I think she is probably going to survive next week.

Candice will probably get enough votes to make it as well, in addition to Angie, who has a lot of fans, and will garner extra votes this week for her Boston shout out.

That leaves the two country singers, Kree and Janelle, both of whom I feel have had better weeks. Kree definitely deserves to stick around though, and while Janelle is likable and talented, I think, if all things are fair, this will be her time to go. My prediction is that she will be at the bottom of the voting.

If the save is still in play though, all this is for naught, and the judges will almost certainly feel the need to save someone and allow their much ballyhooed Top 5 another week of competition. Nonetheless, if Janelle is at the bottom of the votes, the fair thing would be to say goodbye to her, because the other four ladies did manage to outdo her, in song choice and execution this evening.

American Idol Top 6 Results

Who should have been eliminated: Lazaro Arbos
Who I predicted would be eliminated (but saved): Amber Holcomb
Who was eliminated: Lazaro Arbos

All's well that ends well in this regard, but the entire episode felt uncomfortable as everyone was just waiting to see if this result would actually happen.

America finally got it right in sending Lazaro home, and based on the groupings, they seemed to have all the results right for this week's round.

Had Simon Cowell still been on the panel, he would have told Lazaro that he should just sing his farewell song, as it was already decided he would not be given the save. While everyone in the entire building knew that Lazaro would not be saved, he went ahead through the technicality of singing "Feeling Good." It definitely was not great, but it at least was nowhere near as bad as some of the other performances he had done. Just like that, it was over for Lazaro though, and the Final 5 will be all female. The winning streak for males on American Idol is now, tonight, officially over.

I imagine the "save" is still in place for one more week, and the judges will probably feel the need to save someone, just for the attention that will garner. So in a sense, next week may really be an exhibition game, and then the week after, two of the ladies might be sent home, if the rules from past seasons are still in place.

As for Lazaro, he will now embark on a media tour, which will be difficult for him in some ways. While I believe he has demonstrated both positive and negative personality traits on this journey, you cannot help but feel sort of bad for him over the past few weeks. He likely had no idea what he had signed up for and what would ultimately happen when he auditioned. Hopefully, he will not get negative reactions on tour this summer, and will use all these opportunities to grow as someone who may want to make their living as a singer. On this media tour, I would not be shocked if he becomes one of the rare Idols to admit that he is gay. It would certainly generate a lot of media attention for him and likely change the subject away from his poor singing on the show, and his stuttering. I doubt anyone will ask him though if he has been stuffing his pants. (That's what people are searching for on Google and coming across this blog for, even though I have never directly mentioned it.)

Lazaro seemed to handle his elimination in about as mature a fashion as can be expected and hopefully will learn from all of this.Whatever happens to him in the future as far as being a singer is not nearly as important as his life as an adult in general. He was dealt quite a bad hand as far as his stuttering was concerned, but he certainly has to find a way to function in society, as people who have disabilities do.

I just really wonder if he has truly taken all the steps possible in order to explore all options in alleviating this condition. There was something written about him when he was 13 years old in a Florida newspaper about some sort of device that was helping him to stutter less. What ever happened to that? It is really his business only, but the public platform he had and will continue to have would allow him to have influence over many others who may also be suffering from speech problems.

For his own sake, I hope Lazaro is able to and willing to take any reasonable financial or medical steps in order to improve the way he speaks. That way, he can maybe come back to Idol one day as a returning alum as a true and inspiring success story.

American Idol Top 6

Before I begin, I must take just a moment to salute the memory of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, who passed away earlier this week. She was a true giant in world history.

With the "Iron Lady" in mind, it is worth nothing that this season of American Idol has such a discrepancy in talent among its ladies and all the men that were put through. This was clearly intentional by the Idol Powers That Be, in order to produce a female winner. That tactic will ultimately work, but the ratings are suffering as a result. I can only wonder what would have happened if some truly good male competitors would have been able to sing for America's vote, because at least two of the women this year would deserve to win in just about any kind of season.

Tonight, the contestants sang two songs each, and I much preferred the second round to the first. I will now try to remember my thoughts from having watched all this a couple hours ago. I was somewhat surprised the show managed to end on time, as the judges critiques for the first couple performances seemed to go on forever. Mariah Carey sure loves to meander vocally. I wonder if she knows Joe Biden. Nicki Minaj took the opportunity to pass on offering comments on a couple of occasions, ostensibly for time reasons.

Firstly, contestants sang songs from the Burt Bacharach/Hal David songbook. While this theme (which has been done before) will please some of the older Idol faithful, people my age or younger were probably bored. Almost every song in this round turned out to be a Dionne Warwick number. I wonder what her thoughts were. To me, she will forever be associated with Celebrity Apprentice and "I got your number, hussy."

1. Angie Miller- "Anyone Who Had a Heart"

I am already struggling to remember much in the way of details of the first performance of the evening. I think Angie sang it decently from a technical standpoint, but I did find it on the boring side and it seemed very old fashioned. In her performance, she did not really seem that connected to it, and the judges commented on that. Based on what I knew the theme for Round 2 would be, I anticipated a much more connected vocal and performance later on in the evening.

2. Amber Holcomb-" I Say a Little Prayer"

This was a pretty good vocal from Amber, who also gave a spunky performance. Once again though, it just seemed pretty old fashioned and more like something you would see in some kind of theater production saluting the 1960s, rather than something that could be relevant in today's market. I am willing to accept that, and I think she was more than credible singing this old song, but it just was lacking any "wow" moments.

3. Lazaro Arbos- ("They Long To Be) Close to You"

I am not a fan of this song, which mercifully had never been done on Idol before. So leave it to Lazaro to pick it. I thought his tone sounded pretty pleasant for the first few bars, but then it got pretty off-key and demonstrated once again that he was totally out of his league trying to sing in the Finals of an American singing competition on national television. As usual, a sweaty Lazaro resembled a deer caught in the headlights with his eyes. At least he seemed to remember all the words though.

After the performance was the most interesting. The audience barely reacted at all and any applause was quite minimal and muted. I had never heard anything like that done before. All of the judges, gave him extremely negative critiques, which Lazaro wisely did not attempt to sass back at this week. There was no booing from the audience though, as usually occurs when judges are harsh on anyone. Were they told not to react? In any event, the message was clear; Idol wants him "Gone, Gone, Gone."

4. Kree Harrison- "What the World Needs Now Is Love"

I do believe this is the first time this song has ever been done on Idol, and like almost anything else Kree does as a solo performer, it just felt right for her. Her voice is just so effortless and professional sounding. It seemed like maybe it was a bit of an original arrangement to fit her style, so that was another plus for her. Like last week though, it maybe seemed a bit restrained. Perhaps Kree is a bit wary still of moving around because of her pinched nerve issue, but I would like to see her do something a bit more uptempo and energetic sometime in the near future.

5. Janelle Arthur- "I'll Never Fall In Love Again"

Before she sang, we learned that Janelle once performed in a play as a boy, complete with a deep voice. She should have considered doing that tonight. She certainly would have been the most masculine person on stage and probably gotten a lot of votes just for that.

I did not know this song and felt the whole thing was a bit cheesy. Janelle I suppose gave an endearing performance and managed to put a bit of her country twist on it, but it just did not leave any great positive impression on me.

6. Candice Glover- "Don't Make Me Over"

This is another song I had never heard before, but that is probably good for Candice, because she is the only contestant who managed to sound current and relevant in this round.  It was an extremely good vocal, and easily superior to everyone else who had sang thus far. Her voice is just so powerful, yet technically subtle when it needs to be, and all her decisions about runs are usually right on the money. The thematic elements of this song and the lyrics might also speak to a lot of people about Candice and her current experience in Idol, where contestants are so often "made over." If that was the intent at all, it was quite a powerful appeal to many in the audience I am sure.

Round 1 Rankings:

6. Lazaro Arbos
5. Angie Miller
4. Janelle Arthur
3. Amber Holcomb
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover
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Next, the kids were to sing songs "I Wish I Had Written." So, basically, this was pretty open to them, and a great way (unlike the last round) to show what kind of artists they would wish to be after the show. I was expecting to enjoy these performances as a whole much more than the Bacharach songs.

7. Angie Miller- "Love Came Down"

Like many people, I certainly did not know this song, and while it was never mentioned, it is clear that this was a Christian Contemporary number, and fits very much with the genre that Angie wants to get into.

The difference between her emotional connection between this song and the one she did earlier in the evening was like night and day. It was a very good vocal and Angie, who was moved to tears afterwards, was clearly at her most comfortable singing this type of music and emoting while at the piano. The judges, who had been asking her to do that for some time, were quite happy she did that.

8. Amber Holcomb- "Love On Top"

Amber probably gave the most "swag" performance of the night and showed she certainly could fit in the pop market, taking on this Beyonce song. I certainly think her vocals were at least slightly above average, but if I am being honest, it was not at all her best vocal performance and she seemed to be a bit off rhythmically. Of course, almost anyone would singing and moving around as much as she was trying to.

The judges gave her positive feedback for the most part, with Nicki Minaj telling Beyonce to "look out" and wondering where she might be. Is she still in Cuba contributing to a repressive Communist regime? Then, while talking to Seacrest, Amber responded to a comment Nicki had made about her in the last round (which I did not understand at the time), by leaving the door open to her possibly being in a relationship one day with Burnell Taylor, who was eliminated last week. Consider me surprised. I did not think she would truly be into him. Maybe she is just trying to get his votes. Also, Seacrest made what some may consider to be catty remarks about Paul Jolley and Devin Velez in the midst of this awkward conversation.

9. Lazaro Arbos- "Angels"

Before the break, we heard that Lazaro would be taking on Robbie Williams, and I knew it would have to be this song. I was prepared to already denounce it as a disaster and call on the extremely talented David Archuleta to briefly return from his Mormon mission just to (theoretically) slap Lazaro across the face for ruining what is considered one of his signature songs.

This turned out to be perhaps the biggest surprise of the night to me. I did not hate it. In fact, I am ashamed to admit, in the spirit of keeping it real, I maybe even liked it. Perhaps everything is being judged on a curve where Lazaro is concerned, but I thought this was easily the best he had ever sounded, since he first came on television in the auditions. I can theorize that he just knew this song really well and felt the emotion of it. Dare I say, he came across as vocally credible? It might have been even better if it was just the audio too I had heard.

I expected the judges to talk about how much better he was here than earlier and if he was going home, at least it would be on a high note, etc, etc, but they (and the audience once again) were extremely muted and everyone acted like they just wanted him off the stage as soon as possible. They gave him some very minor praise about how it was better, but that he had no business competing with the girls. All that is true to an extent, and while I feel like he has long escaped responsibility for some bad performances on the stage, he was maybe cheated a bit on recognition for this one solitary showing.

10. Kree Harrison- "Help Me Make It Through the Night"

Kree and Kris Kristofferson. Some people may be nervous to see three K's together like that, but of course Ms. Harrison gave another very strong performance.

Yes, it was once again a bit slow and minimalist, but her voice is just so good, that it is impossible to find much to criticize. All of the females this season come across as pretty likeable on television, and Kree is certainly no exception to that. Contrast that to Ms. Minaj who used the opportunity of praising Kree's strong performance to throw shade at Janelle for some reason. There seems to be some strategy involved in that. I was almost hoping that Kree would have snapped back at Nicki in the moment and stood up for Janelle. That would have made for some interesting television.

11. Janelle Arthur- "The Dance"

Vocally, I thought she was far better here than her first song and even Nicki (who seems to be looking for ways to undermine Janelle) had to agree.

This may not have been a perfect vocal, but Janelle, as she usually does when she sings these kinds of ballads, felt much more connected and at ease. Keith Urban noted that maybe she should have done the song just with an acoustic guitar. Still though, I think the target audience that Janelle wants to appeal to will have really liked this.

12. Candice Glover- "Love Song"

I was pretty intrigued when we were told before a break that Candice would be singing a song by 80s British rock band The Cure. I started to think what songs she might do, and this is the one that seemed to be most likely. I was a bit surprised and impressed that Candice would have known this song, and wondered if perhaps there was a cover done by someone that she might have heard. Jumping ahead a bit, almost immediately after the show went off the air, I tried to listen to The Cure version on YouTube and saw instead that Adele had a version she had performed live, and in just listening to a bit of that, it seems possible that Candice was inspired by that particular, changed-up arrangement of the original.

All that being said, this was so very good. Candice can do no wrong in my mind this season, which almost makes things a bit too predictable for me. Her soulful, jazzed up old-school yet fresh version of this song, (which many people probably do not know) had quite an impact and the judges were basically shown losing their crap while she was singing. I did like how Mariah Carey walked up on stage right after Candice was done singing and glitter-bombed her.

After receiving the inevitable standing ovation, the judges, including Randy Jackson, who has been there from the start, said it was one of the best performances ever done on Idol or any other show. I may need to watch it again to see if was truly that spectacular, but in the moment, it certainly was a "moment", and Candice, who seems to be a seriously competitive person (in a good way) appeared genuinely moved to tears by the praise she received.

It is really hard to believe that three judges did not have her in their Top 3 list for this season last week and more so that whomever was making the Season 11 casting decisions, cut her last year, and did not even put her in the semifinals. There is no way that they did not realize then that she had more potential than some of the females that were fodder last season.

Round 2 rankings- much better as a whole:

6. Amber Holcomb
5. Lazaro Arbos
4. Janelle Arthur
3. Angie Miller
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

I still feel incredibly guilty about ranking Lazaro above Amber, but that's how it sounded to me.

Overall rankings, with one tie needing to be broken:

6. Lazaro Arbos
5. Amber Holcomb
4. Janelle Arthur
3. Angie Miller
2. Kree Harrison
1. Candice Glover

I find pretty clear distinctions for this group. Despite Lazaro having a decent performance tonight, he clearly remains the weak link. On the flipside, I have Candice ranked first every week. Usually, Kree is in the second position. The two of them deserve to make the Finale at this point.

Then, I have Amber, Janelle, and Angie bunched up very closely, as I did again tonight. Any of them are capable of either giving a very impressive performance, or disappointing as well.

Two things will happen on tomorrow night's Results Show. Either Lazaro will get the lowest number of votes and say goodbye, or a girl will get the least, and then be saved by the judges. Perhaps Nicki will try to create some drama if that girl is Janelle before ultimately going along with the save.

Once again, Lazaro should be voted off, and may be, but he was in the Top 3 last week, and being "dissed" by the judges (as well as having one pretty good, at least for his standard, performance) might even garner him more votes.

I think Candice is going to get some votes that she might not have gotten last week, and thus, I think the "surprise" person who will get the least amount of votes will be Amber. All things considered, I think Idol might prefer her as the eventual winner, and needless to say, if she is singing for the save tomorrow night, she will get it. After all, as soon as Randy says "in it to win it" after her performances, someone in the Idol graphics booth has the hashtag immediately ready to be put on the screen, as a subliminal reminder.

U.S. House Special Elections

I always predict the results of all U.S. House races, and currently there are three vacancies in Congress. The first of these races will be decided this upcoming Tuesday, but I might as well go ahead and predict the three currently scheduled special elections.

Illinois

2. (vacant upon the resignation of Jesse Jackson Jr.- D)
won by Obama with 81% of the vote

Safe D
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Missouri

8. (vacant upon the resignation of Jo Ann Emerson-R)
won by Romney with 66% of the vote

Likely R
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South Carolina

1. (vacant upon U.S. Senate appointment of Tim Scott-R)
won by Romney with 58% of vote

Leans R
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American Idol Top 7 Results

Who should have been eliminated: Lazaro Arbos
Who I predicted would be eliminated: Burnell Taylor
Who was eliminated: Burnell Taylor

Before the final results were eliminated, the judges were asked to weigh in with who they thought where the "Top 3." It felt like they were answering not just for this particular round but for the entire competition, and three out of the four judges did not include Candace Glover in their Top 3. I find that pretty disappointing.

Even more so was the vote by America, in which Candace was not in the Top 3. However, she did manage to advance, in a night where both she and Kree Harrison looked like they were continuing to struggle with physical ailments.

My Top Three from last night would have been Candace, Angie Miller, and Amber Holcomb. I almost always have Kree in the Top 3, but did not last evening. America's Top Three was Kree, Angie, and inexplicably, Lazaro Arbos.

That just tells me that the more that Jimmy Iovine and others predict his demise, and no matter how poorly he may sing or mess up on live television, he may very well be around for a while at outlast at least one of the girls. I thought Lazaro would probably survive this week, but would certainly be in the Bottom Three. He got far more votes than that. The longer he stays, the more of a backlash will develop against him, by those people who even give a damn this year. I just follow all this for fun.

I am not sure if we were told that Janelle Arthur was in the "Bottom Two" along with Burnell, or was just the last person to be told she was safe. This put me in a weird position as they were both standing there, as I had ranked Burnell ahead of Janelle last night (which I find sort of hard to believe) but continue to believe she is usually the better singer. Had she been voted off, the judges would have saved her, but the odds were far greater for them to throw a life-jacket to Burnell.

Singing for the save, he performed "Ready For Love", and while it was pleasant, I think it lacked the vocal high-points of when he sang it before, which I believe was on the Top 10 Reveal Results Show. It was more interesting to watch the reactions of his fellow contestants while he was singing. At the end, he appeared to be singing the song directly to Amber (after looking like he was singing to Lazaro previously), and then gave her a peck on the cheek. We heard last night that Burnell supposedly has a crush on Amber, but it does not seem like she was feeling that.

All the contestants seemed to be emotional over Burnell's exit though, and nobody was taking it harder than Candace, who we were told had a big sister/younger brother relationship with him. Hopefully, Candace's humanity will gain her some more votes, because she certainly has been bringing it vocally every week.

So, officially, Lazaro is the first place male of Season 12 and we now have what is easily the largest gender discrepancy in Idol history. If the trend continues, Lazaro will be the final male victim next week, but since he as in the Top 3 after another poor week, I will be surprised if that happens. What that means is that whatever female gets the lowest number of votes next week, will be saved by the judges. They will feel the need to use it eventually. In some regards though, next week is almost a "freebie" for all the contestants if conventional wisdom holds.

As for Burnell, he will get to go on tour this summer and gain exposure and experience. I truly do not know what awaits him after that. He could turn out to be one of a long list of former Idol contestants who never get a major record deal and just toil around on the fringe of the industry. It is possible though that he could get a break and have an impact somehow on the neo-R&B scene or whatever it is that he would be classified at. In any regards, it is very good for him that he was able to accomplish this month, just a few years after his family suffered so much due to a natural disaster.

American Idol Top 7

This week, I am going to live-blog, as I watch a recording of this evening's proceedings. I will consider my rankings and make comments before I listen to what the judges had to say.

Tonight, is Rock Week. Seacrest tells us "no ballads." That should be quite a stylistic change from what we have been largely seeing this season, but also holds out potential disaster for some contestants. Noted guitarist Orianthi will be backing the contestants up.

1. Burnell Taylor- "You Give Love a Bad Name"

Having just seen it, I do not really know what to think of it. I guess I was just skeptical of Burnell taking on Bon Jovi from the outset. It started off sounding and feeling pretty weird, but actually, I think he probably got the most out of the performance as he was going to. I do not think it was terrible, and at least he did not bastardize the original song, as Blake Lewis did several years ago. Somehow though, I do not think he will get the same kind of critical acclaim that Blake received, and performing his solo first in the night might have Burnell as the next guy to be in danger.

2. Angie Miller and Lazaro Arbos- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

Here we go with the first duet. Based on the odd number of contestants remaining, I am expecting one trio. Well, this was pretty much a mess. Lazaro started off this Queen Rockabilly classic looking pretty uncomfortable. Perhaps his pants were too tight. It just felt amateurish throughout, and in what is a trend for Lazaro in these group performances, there appeared to be a lyrical slip-up. Angie may have played a part in that too. She sounded marginally better than Lazaro, but really not that much. This was not good for her either, and she at least, should be considered capable of better.

The consensus of the judges seems to be that the lyric flap was Lazaro's fault, and that Angie sounded good. I think they were kind to her on this one.

3. Kree Harrison-"Piece of My Heart"

We learn that Kree knows everybody on the Idol crew and remembers their stories and that she likes to hug people. It sounds like she has a future in politics. She certainly hopes to be receiving votes in this competition.

Her singing this particular Janis Joplin tune just makes sense off the bat. When was the last time this song was done on Idol? I think it might have been a while. I do not know if this is the most powerful rendition of the song I have ever heard. Kree appeared to be taking somewhat of a laid back and restrained take on it, but it was still far better than anything we have heard so far tonight and she certainly demonstrated the vocal chops to handle this kind of a rock song.

Afterwards, we learn that Kree has a pinched nerve, which probably explains why I felt she was holding back during the performance and that her grandmother grew up with Janis Joplin. That probably makes a lot of Baby Boomers feel extra old. I was most shocked to see Mariah Carey applaud along with the audience to a comment Nicki Minaj made.

4. Burnell Taylor and Candice Glover- "The Letter"

Well, this song has certainly been done a couple times recently on Idol. This was a far better duet than the preceding one this evening. It was a better sound and vibe for Burnell than his solo performance. However, it was really Candace that brought things home with her power and soulful take. So far, she is just incapable of delivering a poor performance. I see a standing ovation by some judges before I pause.

5.  Janelle Arthur- "You May Be Right"

I guess Billy Joel counts as "Rock." The folks back home in Tennessee were gathered at Lincoln's Grill to watch Janelle perform tonight and if they were honest, they may have noticed that she was a bit pitchy.

To me, this was the most off vocally she has sounded and it continues the trend of inconsistency for her. She sounds so good when she does stripped down intimate acoustic type performances, but when she tries to "rock out", even with her country twang, it feels far less professional and sounds troublesome on many notes. At least it seems like she got all the words right. I wonder if the judges will agree with my harsh critique.

Nope, they really liked it. Go figure. Although, they seemed more focused on Janelle's wardrobe and her "relatability." She is pretty good with the banter and quick comments. I just did not like this performance. Also, it seems like Mariah and Nicki have been taking baby steps tonight to pretend like the other person actually exists at the judges' table. They were probably directed to do so.

6. Lazaro Arbos- "We Are The Champions"

For the second time tonight, Lazaro sings a song by Queen. Is he trying to tell us something? Most likely, he has simply never heard any of the songs that were on the list tonight.

His fellow contestants talked about his "fetish" for bright colors, and while he was not wearing them on stage for this, there may have been something else a bit "wrong" regarding his ensemble. I will wait to see if blogs pick up on it tomorrow and if there are conspiracy theories abound.

Vocally? I guess Lazaro's rendition of "We Are The Champions" can be adopted as the theme song of the 2013 NBA World Champion Charlotte Bobcats. I think he may have properly hit a note or two, but missed a lot more. There was certainly a lyric flub in there (of course) and besides the terrible sweating problem he has (Nixon never sweated like that when he was chillin' in South Florida with Bebe Rebozo), Lazaro's Cuban accent just comes across as so thick when he sings a lot of the time and that was definitely happening on this. Why doesn't he just sing in Spanish? The judges would probably go crazy for it.

The judges had no criticism for him. The intent from the Idol Powers That Be has to be that such a strategy is the only way to get him voted off this week.

7. Amber Holcomb, Janelle Arthur, and Kree Harrison- "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"

This seemed like a mess. They could have used some more practice time on this one I am thinking. Amber's voice sounded sort of nice on her solo parts, but she mixed up the wording at one point and I think forgot to sing along with a chorus at another. Janelle, singing her second Billy Joel number of the night, sounded ok, but nothing to write home about. Kree did not sound bad, but appeared to be sort of phoning it in on this one and there was really nothing that stood out particularly regarding her vocal.

Now, that everyone has sang once, I can complete the rankings for the First Round:

7. Lazaro Arbos- duet
6. Janelle Arthur- solo
5. Angie Miller- duet
4. Amber Holcomb- trio
3. Burnell Taylor- solo
2. Kree Harrison- solo
1. Candace Glover- duet

All the judges, except Nicki seemed to like that final performance. Did they really or are they just saying that? I thought I caught Mariah roll her eyes after she made her comments.
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8. Candace Glover- "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

While we do not know exactly how Kree pinched her nerve, we hear now that Candace broke her toe playing an April Fool's joke on Lazaro. Why isn't TMZ covering this stuff?

Candace has already proved her bona fides over the past few weeks when it comes to singing in a blues rock oriented way and I think she delivered once again here. It is possible I suppose for critics to claim that she maybe yelled a bit too much throughout the performance. While this was not the best showing she has had thus far, it still was credible and I felt she took enough steps to try to infuse her own personal style into a well-known old rock song.

Seacrest sort of dissed her size by saying he was "stronger than he looked" in case she needed him to help her get off stage. She did sort of look like she might have been in pain though. At least she did not have to suffer an injury like Louisville Cardinal Kevin Ware did. Best wishes to him in his recovery.

9. Amber Holcomb- "What About Love"

This was a great song choice and a great song by Heart for Amber to do. Her vocals may not have quite been at the Ann Wilson level, but I think Amber absolutely accomplished what she sent out to do. It seemed like she was able to finesse the powers in her vocal in a way that did not come across as overly shouty (which may have hurt Candace just a bit) while appearing to also be emotionally engaged in the performance. It looked like one judge was about to stand up for an ovation. Since I rated this highly, I almost expect the others to find something to criticize.

Nevermind. The judges loved it and continued to pimp Amber. She also has a sister in the Army. That should get her some votes.

10. Angie Miller- "Bring Me To Life"

I was wondering if she was going to sing "Angie" by the Rolling Stones. Before the last commercial, she had a written shout out to her alma mater Beverly High School, not to be confused with West Beverly High School, the homebase of a departed Fox Show.

She started off at the piano, as the judges had wanted her to do, but did not stay there long, as she got up and then sang the Evanescence number, complete with wind machine. I sort of wanted to not have to rank this higher than Amber or Candace but I have to say that Angie delivered. She sounded really good and current, and it felt like she was performing with something to prove, which may have been a vibe that was missing from some of other other female frontrunners tonight.

Round Two Rankings:

7. Lazaro Arbos- solo
6. Kree Harison- trio
5. Janelle Arthur- trio
4. Burnell Taylor- duet
3. Candace Glover- solo
2. Amber Holcomb- solo
1. Angie Miller- solo

Composite:

7. Lazaro Arbos
6. Janelle Arthur
5. Kree Harrison
4. Burnell Taylor
3. Amber Holcomb
2. Angie Miller
1. Candace Glover


All things considered, this was a somewhat subpar night, although the last two solo performances were the highlights. This season is missing a true "rocker." Angie did her best to try to fill the void I suppose and comes the closest.

These group performances really affect the overall rankings in a weird way, but it is, what it is. It is hard to believe that I would have Kree in a Bottom Three position.

I do not think she is at risk of leaving, although her vote total may decrease a bit. Lazaro should be sent home, of course, and while he will certainly be in the Bottom Three this week, I will once again say that Burnell, despite having a high ranking from me (thanks to his duet with Candace and his competition being weak in the First Round), will be the one to go.